RIM is currently showing off its much-hyped BlackBerry PlayBook tablet PC at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and CIO.com's Al Sacco was on the scene for a first look at how the tablet connects to a BlackBerry smartphone for e-mail and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) access.

Tablet PCs are all the rage at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) is currently demonstrating one of the most-anticipated tablets at the event: The seven-inch BlackBerry PlayBook.

RIM first announced the BlackBerry Tablet in September, and it held small events for developers, partners and other industry insiders during the past few months, but CES 2011 marks the first time RIM allowed the public to touch and to experiment with the PlayBook, the first version of which is expected to become available before the end of March.

The initial version of the BlackBerry PlayBook is expected to be "Wi-Fi only," meaning it won't pack any sort of cellular radio. And the PlayBook will need to connect to a BlackBerry smartphone via a Bluetooth connection to access many Web-based BlackBerry services while on the go.

After getting some hands-on time with the PlayBook--I'll post my first impression shortly on the Mobile WorkHorse blog--I was lucky enough to sit down with RIM Marketing Manager Jeff Gadway for a quick video demonstration of how the BlackBerry PlayBook will use a BlackBerry smartphone to access BlackBerry e-mail and RIM's popular, proprietary IM client, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM).

In addition to e-mail and BBM, the first version of the PlayBook will also use a BlackBerry smartphone to access users' BlackBerry calendars, address books, memos and tasks. Check out the video below for details. And read my list of 10 things you need to know about the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet for more specifics on the device.